Patient and Caregiver; and Executive Director at Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research, ON 

Maggie Keresteci is a patient who is immunocompromised, as well as a caregiver to a frail older relative and a sibling with a life-altering rare disease. She is an advocate for patients and caregivers and believes that the only way to create a truly person-centred system is through its purposeful and systematic co-design. Maggie is an active participant in many provincial and pan-Canadian advisory panels, providing strategic advice on achieving integration in the health system, including insights about the importance of patient, caregiver and family partnership in research, co-design of care and clinical interactions. She is a volunteer board director with Emily’s House, Toronto’s only pediatric hospice. Maggie also serves as the Executive Director of Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR), the representative association of Canada’s health services and policy research community. For our current work on emergency department overcrowding, Maggie was a patient reviewer and working group member for our multistakeholder dialogue sessions.

MD, ER Physician, Humber River Health, ON ; Digital Health Leader and Consultant; Former Chief Medical Innovation Officer, Humber River Health

Dr. Tasleem Nimjee is an emergency physician at Humber River Hospital, ON – North America’s first fully digital hospital. She served as the hospital’s inaugural Chief Medical Innovation Officer (CMIO), one of the first physicians in such a role in Canada. She has developed innovation governance, contributed to the establishment of a new digital health research institute, and is a founding member of a provincial women’s CMIO table. Dr. Nimjee has led digital transformation and health information systems implementation at multiple organizations. Her many years of volunteer service include contributions to both the local and provincial Aga Khan health boards as well as a lead role in the Medical Advisory Service.

In the spring of 2020, Dr. Nimjee was appointed Physician Lead for Humber River Hospital's Pandemic Response. She went on to represent 5 large regional hospitals at the province of Ontario’s Incident Management table, providing key strategic and operational level guidance during this exceptional challenge to our health care system.

Dr. Nimjee has been featured in Toronto Life Magazine as one of The 50 Most Influential Torontonians of 2020 along with 5 other outstanding front-line workers in the number one spot. She has appeared on numerous media outlets to keep the public informed on emergency medicine and other health-related topics.

Nurse in regional ED; Clinical Educator, Alberta Health Services; and President of National Emergency Nurses Association (NENA)

Dawn has been a nurse for 29 years and resides in Alberta. In 2008, she started working in emergency nursing and found her home. Since 2014, Dawn has been working as a clinical instructor in Rural South Zone, Alberta, and continues to work on a casual basis in urban and rural emergency departments. She is the current President of the National Emergency Nursing Association (NENA) and co-chair of the Banff Rural Emergency Conference. Dawn loves being involved in local, provincial, national, and international emergency nursing organizations because she feels we have a global opportunity to meet the needs of emergency nursing and to strive to achieve a safe, healthy environment for patients and staff. Dawn is married and has 5 amazing adult children and the golden ticket - 2 beautiful granddaughters who make her world complete.

PhD, Manager, Clinical Research, Evidence, Products and Services, CDA

Gino De Angelis is a Manager of clinical research within our Medical Devices and Clinical Interventions Directorate. Gino manages and leads a team of clinical researchers who conduct evidence-based analyses and Environmental Scans on various health technologies. Gino holds an MSc in epidemiology and community medicine, and a PhD in rehabilitation sciences, both from the University of Ottawa.

Executive Vice-President, Evidence Products and Services, CDA (moderator)

Sudha Kutty is our Executive Vice-President, Evidence, Products, and Services. She is responsible for overseeing and administrating our pharmaceutical reviews and medical devices and clinical interventions portfolios.

Recognized as a seasoned health care executive, she has more than 25 years of strategic, health care leadership experience. Sudha is passionate about health care and she brings a wealth of experience in promoting health system improvements by actively supporting the adoption of evidence into practice through various health care campaigns, developing continuous learning and educational opportunities, and leading organizational change through equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.